Monopoly
“I cannot be killed. I cannot be overthrown. What will it take before you stop questioning? Humans live best when each has his own place, when each knows where he belongs in the scheme of things." -Monopoly History In the distant history of the Final Empire's past, a dying Emperor bequeathed his throne to his two sons, Merbol and Monopoly. Merbol was an enlightened and educated monarch; Monopoly a driven and calculating warrior. Monopoly eventually decided that the Final Empire could not endure two rulers, and killed his brother along with all his supporters. Despite his best efforts, he could not catch Jang, his neice and the empire's true heir, or her illegitimate half-sister, Sharra. This would prove later to be his undoing. Monopoly gathered thirteen of the world's greatest heroes and made them his Lords, each with a sphere of his realm to rule. He captured one half of a fallen Gnomish spaceship and turned its command throne - a powerful magical amplifier - into his seat of power, and the dome itself into his capital. Using the power of the throne, Monopoly and his Lords harnessed the power of the young deities to create the Shield, a barrier that would keep the horrors of the multiverse out from the Prime Material Plane. When one of his Lords, Alpha, was corrupted by a parasitic psionic force known as the Gem, he stood by and watched as this psychic parasite began to re-write the personalities of everyone around him, from the highest generals to the lowest commoners. Made immortal by the throne, Monopoly retreated into the dome and allowed the Final Empire to exist in a state of stagnation as countries rose and fell. The world was protected by the Shield, and his people were rendered mind-slaves to Alpha, allowing everything to exist in a nightmarish status-quo. Monopoly's world began to unravel when he heard a prophecy that he would be killed by a mage. At his command, Lord Alpha placed a curse on the people of the Final Empire, so that they might exsanguinate in the presence of magic. This did not stop him from being toppled in a rebellion led by the renegade mage Jotunheim, which included his nieces Sharra and Jang, and the man who many would see as his successor - Tolumvire of Arendur. The Final Empire was destroyed when Tolumvire brought the parts of it he wanted back to an idealized past, leaving the hollow shell in a dying, paradox-ridden future. Monopoly would follow Tolumvire back in time to try and kill him, but find himself locked in a duel with Jamkas Wolfswift, against whom he would meet his end. Personality An arrogant warmonger. Monopoly had many noble goals - the preservation of the Final Empire, the protection of the earth, and safety for his people - but his methods and actions were cold-hearted and ruthless. Monopoly's personality was a reflection of his arch-enemy's, Tolumvire of Arendur. As Emperor of Arendur, Tolumvire would often realize that Monopoly's choices were the ones that seemed most logical, and would often wish he could call upon him for advice. Monopoly's actions would bear terrible fruit in some of the earth's greatest wars and calamities, yet his ideals would influence a generation of rulers that followed him. Category:Final Empire Category:Monarchs Category:Dead Category:Shield Campaign